Back To Me
by smileygirl063
Summary: Naruto was sent away to a special training camp in Tori after losing control of the Kyuubi during an invasion. When he returns, Sakura and the rest of Rookie 9 realize that he's acting strange. How can they bring the old Naruto back? Full summary inside..
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It will always belong to Kishi. No matter how many times I sit around and sulk about how much I wish that I owned it…**

This fic is based on some time after Pain's invasion. Sasuke invaded Konaha and Naruto managed to drive him off, but not without losing control of the Kyuubi in the process. The village elders began to fear that Naruto would be a danger to their village if he didn't get himself under control and they sent him away to a training camp. When Naruto returns, Sakura and the rest of Naruto's friends realize that he's acting strange. How can they find out what went on in the mysterious camp? And, more importantly, how can they bring Naruto back to his old self?

Please note that Sasuke won't really have a part in this fic (other than a few brief mentions). I just used his invasion as a reason for Naruto to turn Kyuubi…lol.

This is my first story, so I'm sorry if it's rushed or too slow or something like that. I just really wanted to try this story out. Thanks for readin'!

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This is just the intro. The next chapter will probably be longer. Although, I can't really make any guarantees…

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**Back To Me**

It was another beautiful morning in Konoha as Sakura awoke to see the sun kiss the mountain peaks that surrounded her village. The birds sang and a gentle morning breeze floated in from her small window.

She didn't know when or why she had started to wake up so early in the morning. After all, her shift at the hospital didn't start until eight. '_Maybe it's because I like getting things done early_,' she told herself. But she knew that wasn't the truth. Sleep just didn't come to her like it used to. If she ever got a wink of sleep at night it was because she had taken some sleeping pills. She usually stared at the ceiling thinking about how many failed surgeries that she had participated in and what she could've have done differently that would've made them a success.

How many times had Tsunadae told her that it wasn't her fault? How many times had Ino reassured her that the patient wasn't healthy to begin with? How many times had Lee taken her out to eat in a feeble attempt to cheer her up? How many times had she picked up the picture of _**her**_ Team 7 and absently watched her tears caress the dusty frame?

She'd lost count.

It wasn't like she didn't _want_ to be cheered up. Really, she did. But, something inside her stopped her from feeling truly happy every time.

So the _**real**_question was: What _**was**_ bothering her?

Was it the loss of Sasuke? Was it the failed surgeries? Was it the lack of sleep? Or, dare she think it, Naruto…?

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since she'd seen him last. Maybe two or three years. The years during his absence just…blended together. She could remember vividly the day that he left…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_Flashback_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Sakura didn't like the way that Shikamaru sounded when he told her that the council needed to speak with Naruto. She really didn't like the way he sounded when he told her that they wanted her at the meeting also. But she reluctantly obeyed. Something about his voice tone told her that he wasn't in the mood to be tampered with._

_Naruto smiled widely as she approached. "SAKURA-CHAN!" _

He probably thinks I'm joining him for a date or something_, she thought to herself._

"_The council needs to speak with you," Sakura told Naruto, who was busily eating a bowl of ramen at Ichirakus._

"_Eh. Sakura-chan, I thought the council was having a meeting," Naruto groaned._

"_They are. They need you and me to attend."_

"_WHAT?! NO! You know I hate meetings," Naruto protested, standing up in front of her. "All the members of the council blame me for the Kyuubi's attack and they all claim that I don't know enough about the village to participate. Stupid council..." Her reply was far more somber than he expected._

"_This meeting's different."_

_So Naruto followed Sakura to the Hokage's tower without a reply. He realized the moment that he walked in that Sakura was right - this meeting was infinitely different. Naruto quietly took a seat next to Shikamaru. Naruto never spoke much around the council; he knew they hated him because he was a Jinchuuriki. It was a fact that was impossible to avoid. He hoped that this meeting wouldn't last long._

_Once Naruto and Sakura were seated, there was a pregnant pause. Everyone seemed to think that someone else was preparing to speak. But Danzou, being the new Hokage, took the matter into his own hands._

_"Alright, Naruto, I'm just going to be frank here. I think you need to leave the village for a while to get yourself straightened out." he stated calmly, almost sure of what he thought Naruto's reaction would be. However, Naruto stayed seated; he was shocked. To everyone's surprise, Shikamaru snapped._

_"Just what exactly are you planning to do with him, Danzou?" he asked angrily._

_"I'm going to send him away for a while. There's a nice training camp for...__**troubled**__ ninja in Tori_, _the hidden bird village _(A/N: I know NOTHING about this place. I just found it on a list of villages on Naruto and thought it sounded cool ^_^). _It may be kind of remote, but he obviously needs some time away. We can't risk him losing control again," Danzou replied calmly, unaffected by the glares he was receiving from Sakura, Shikamaru, and Shikaku. _

_"WHAT? What have I done to bring this on myself?" Naruto yelled. Danzou chuckled coldly to himself._

_"I think you know perfectly well what you've done," he replied matter-of-factly, "and the whole village is afraid of what you might do next time." Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but then shut it. He couldn't collect his thoughts._

_"This is unreasonable, Danzou," Shikaku retorted. "The boy __**saved **__our village from one of it's biggest threats and all you can do is send him away because of __**one**__**flaw**__." Danzou immediately stood up._

"_-A FLAW THAT ALMOST COST US OUR __**ENTIRE**__ VILLAGE," he screamed. Naruto inwardly recoiled. He had told himself the same thing thousands of times, but it stung __**so**__ much more to hear someone else say it._

_"But we need him to...help protect our village," Sakura said, her voice cracking from emotion._

_"We'll be fine without him for a while," an ANBU member stated emotionlessly._

_"A while?" Naruto was worried about how long he would have to be away from home._

_"A few years maybe," Danzou seemed unsure himself. "They have specialists in Tori; they'll know when he's ready to return."_

** ~~~~~~~~~~_Next Week_~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

_The council had allowed Naruto __**one**__ week to get his things together and prepare to leave. But he would've been better off to leave the day of the meeting. He hated the way that the villagers treated him. '_Even after all that I did for them_,' he thought._

_Naruto was putting the last of his things together when the rest of Rookie Nine showed up to escort him out of the village. It seemed like no one trusted him anymore. He began to think that maybe Danzou was right about sending him away, but he wouldn't allow himself to believe that._

_"Need any help?" Kiba asked, looking all around the room to avoid eye contact._

_"No. I'm fine, thanks." It wasn't like they weren't __**trying**__ to help him. Several of them had offered to take Naruto out for ramen in the past week; he had gladly accepted. But it just wasn't the same. He knew they wished that they could object to Danzou's wishes, but they were powerless. Danzou was the____Hokage. So, even when his best friends joined him at his very favorite restaurant, he couldn't really say that he had a 'good' time. And he couldn't help but feel that it was his fault. After all, if he wouldn't have lost control of the Kyuubi, this wouldn't be happening._

_"Well, I guess I'll be going now," Naruto said, forcing a smile, "It's gonna be a long journey."_

_"Are you sure that you don't want one of us to accompany you?" Shikamaru asked. His eyes almost begged for Naruto to say 'Come with me!'. But Naruto had already objected to the idea. He hated goodbyes. He didn't want to say goodbye to the villagers (the ones that liked him, that is)__** and**__ say goodbye to his friends after the journey too. It was best to get it all over with now. _

_He shook his head, "No, I think I'll do fine alone. Thanks, though." Shikamaru nodded and gave him a pat on the back. They had become close friends since Jiraya's death. Shikamaru had frequently come to visit Naruto to make sure that he was handling things okay. Naruto was thankful to have such a good friend. But, then again, that made it __**so**__ much harder to leave._

_ Sakura tried to smile, but her bottom lip trembled. This was harder than last time he had left. They'd helped each other through a lot of things since then. They were on the same team, after all. She inwardly cursed herself for not trying hard enough to protest against Danzou. "H-have a g-good time," she said, finally meeting his eyes, "We'll miss you." '__**I'll**__ miss you…'_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~END FLASHBACK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And that was it. She didn't hug him; she didn't cry in his arms and hold his hand until he left; she just watched him leave. And then she went in her room and cried. It wasn't like when Sasuke left. Then she had lost the fairytale ending that she'd always dreamed of.

No. This time she went home and cried all night long. The years to come brought no relief. It was more difficult for her to hold herself together when she didn't have a shoulder to lean on.

It didn't make sense for her to be that way. She knew that he was coming back in a few years. Maybe it was the villagers comments about how horrible Naruto was that bothered her. Or maybe it was just the loneliness of losing both of her team members. Or maybe that strange feeling in the pit of her stomach was the problem, but what exactly did the feeling mean?

Then, as she glanced at her calendar, she realized that relief might finally come. Because there, on this exact Monday, she had written, 'Naruto comes back'. She couldn't believe it! Today, he was coming back! **Naruto Uzumaki** was coming back. Her best friend was going to be there for her again. And, though she'd been strong while he was gone, she was ready for him to come home.

_'Naruto...you have no idea how much I've missed you.'_

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I know! I know!! It's SO cliché, right? Plus, the end kinda concludes too quickly, but whatever. I just had to get the flashback part of the story out of the way. Sakura will cheer up when Naruto gets back, okay? I mean, she missed her best friend. You can't blame her! Sorry if my writing is kinda somber. I'll try to get some humor in here and there, okay? But this fic will be kindof emotional. And the rest of Rookie 9 are gonna play a big part in it too… just cuz I love 'em.

Thanks for reading. Please review and what not…XD

~Smiley~


	2. Welcome home, Naruto!

**~CHAPPY 2~**

Me: "Dei-dei-chan, why don't you do the disclaimer, hun?

Deidara: "Hn. Why? I'm not even _in_ the story…"

Me: "Cuz I said so. There's no better answer. After all, if you don't, I'll make you _**DIE**_ in the fanfic!"

Deidara: *shrugs* So…

Me: "JUST DO IT!

Deidara: *sigh* Smiley-chan doesn't own Naruto. Hn. *looks at me* Happy?

Me: *smiles*

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Sakura barely made it to the hospital for work on time. Well, she _**didn't**_ make it on time. But that was rare for her, and she didn't think Shizune or Ino would mind.

Things weren't very busy when she arrived and went to get her morning coffee. "I really need to stop drinking this crap," she said to no one in particular. Then she turned to see Ino getting some coffee for herself. She hoped Ino hadn't heard her talking to herself. Luckily, she seemed unaffected.

"Sakura, you're late," Ino said groggily, not really concerned about Sakura's answer.

"I know, know," she said passively, waving her hand at Ino, "and I'm sorry. I just got kinda distracted this morning," she said, smiling. Ino squinted at her, trying to figure out why she was so perky, especially since Sakura was _**never**_ perky in the morning. Finding nothing unusual, she shrugged,

"You don't have to apologize to me, but would you mind telling me what's got you so up-beat…?" she laughed to herself, "I could use something to energize me this morning." For a moment, Sakura wondered if telling Ino about Naruto would be the best thing to do. It seemed to annoy Ino whenever Sakura brought up Naruto. Sakura couldn't tell if it was because Ino missed him too or because Sakura just talked about Naruto too much, but she thought it would be best to tell Ino today. She might even be excited. After all, Naruto was her friend too.

"Naruto's coming back today, Ino," Sakura said cheerfully, "It feels like it's been forever since I've talked to him and I was starting to miss the little baka."

"_**Starting…?**_" Ino asked, smiling slyly, "Why, you've been crying over him since the day he left." She lazily took a sip of her coffee, grimaced, and added a pack of sweetener.

"Have not!" Sakura wasn't _that_ pathetic. Ino knew that, but she also knew that Sakura had gotten very close to him in the few years before his departure.

"Have so."

"Have not!"

"Have so."

"Have not! Have not! Have not!!"

"Whatever," Ino replied in defeat. "Seriously, when will she ever be able to take a joke?" Ino muttered to herself while she threw away her coffee and returned to her work. But, before she left the cafeteria, she turned once again to Sakura, "What time will he be here?" Sakura paused. She hadn't actually thought about the exact time of his return and the village hadn't heard much of anything from him. The only letter they received was extremely sloppy and only briefly informed them of his departure. So, Sakura had done some research about the location of Tori and found that he should be back at about this time.

'_Why did I make such a stupid assumption?' _she wondered to herself. '_No. He will be back today. I have to have faith_,

"Um…I don't know the exact time, Ino. But he should be back today." Ino nodded and left.

'_Right, Sakura. Right…' _Sakura thought to herself.

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After Sakura had finished her work up for the day, she began her walk home with Ino. They both worked on the same shift.

"No sign of him yet, I guess," Ino asked, looking over at Sakura.

"Not yet. But, don't worry. H-he'll be here soon," Sakura reassured, turning her face away; she didn't want Ino to see the doubt in her eyes.

"I hope so. I don't think the village has been the same since he left," she paused a moment, thinking about what to say next, then sighed. "I hate to say it, but the little twerp really had a way of brightening things up and -," Sakura cut her off,

"Has."

"Huh?"

"He _**has **_a way of brightening things up. Not _**had**_," Sakura retorted. Ino didn't even realize what she'd said.

_'Jeez. When did Sakura get so sensitive?' _Ino wondered to herself.

"Yeah, well, whatever. I was just trying to be nice," she snapped back, slinging her purse onto her other shoulder, "You didn't have to be so snippy about it."

"Sorry. I just- I mean, the way that you said it made it sound like he was…" she couldn't even bear the thought. Ino knew what she meant and decided to direct the conversation to a lighter subject. She was tired from work anyway.

"Hey, listen, Sakura. How 'bout you join me, Shikamaru, and Chouji for dinner, okay? It's gonna be fine. Even if Naruto doesn't show up today, he's bound to show up soon. No need to be so down," she said pleasantly, smiling. Her smile lit up her whole face and it was so sincere; Sakura just couldn't deny it.

"Okay. What time?"

"Six at za Hanashoubu (The Iris). And don't be late."

"Alright, Thanks."

"Hey, no problem, girl," Ino said and then turned and waved, "See ya there."

"Uhuh," Sakura replied, nodding.

It was one of those strange moments where you're reminded of why you're friends with someone. This was why Sakura was still friends with Ino. They may have had disagreements in the past, but that was behind them. And she couldn't be more thankful for Ino than she was right now.

_'Thanks, Ino-pig…'_

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Sakura decided to dress nice for the occasion. She slipped on a simple knee-length pink halter-dress. Then she added a diamond necklace to go with it. She hoped Ino would dress nice too.

When Sakura finally made her way to za Hanashoubu, it was already five past six.

'_Dangit_,' she thought, '_I hope Ino doesn't get mad. Especially since she's late for everything.'_

'_**If she's mad, you just tell her to s-'**_

_'Gah, Inner-Sakura! Shutup! Stop giving me bad ideas!'_

_**'Um. I'm kindof inner- you. You can't tell me to shutup!**_

_'I just did.'_

_**'Ugh. Stupid…'**_

_'You just called yourself stupid.'_

_**'Be quiet and find Ino!'**_

_'You just don't want to admit that I totally owned you!'_

_**'What difference does it make? I'm YOU!'**_

_'Oh. Good point…'_

"Sakura!! You're late!" Sakura could hear Ino's voice above everyone else's at the restaurant. It was always several octaves above the usual murmur of a crowd. To Sakura's delight, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino were all dressed fairly nice. Although, Shikamaru didn't look particularly happy to be in that bright green tie.

"Yeah, I know that, _Ino_. Could you be a little easier on me?" Sakura asked, annoyed. She greeted Shikamaru and Chouji with a smile and then took a seat next to Ino.

"Whaaatever…" Ino replied, already letting her mind wander to the menu.

'_Boy, she needs pills_.' Sakura thought to herself.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^^*^*^*^*^*^*^

The evening meal progressed smoothly as the four friends occupied themselves with small-talk and some occasional remarks about Naruto's return. Chouji and Shikamaru seemed to really be missing him too.

"It's seems like forever since I've had an eating contest with anyone," Chouji said, smiling, "When did you say that he'd be coming home, Sakura?"

"Today!" She said a little louder than she had intended.

"Really?" Chouji's face brightened, "Great!" He turned to Shikamaru, "Hey, Shika! We should have a 'Welcome home' party for him. How 'bout it?" Shikamaru mumbled something about how "troublesome" parties were, but nodded,

"Sure. Whatever."

"Well, we all appreciate your enthusiasm." Ino said, irritated.

"I'm ecstatic. Can't you see it?" Shikamaru pointed at himself and then laid his head back.

"He really is, Ino," Chouji added, "Look at his face. He can barely contain himself."

"Ugh," Ino threw her head back, "I thought you were friends with Naruto!"

"I am, Ino. I just don't like parties. Get it?" Shikamaru asked, lazily. Sakura tried to bring them back on subject,

"Um, guys…? Where should we have the party?" That seemed to stop them. They all looked at each other.

"I nominate Shikamaru's house. His parents will let us do anything we want!" Ino said enthusiastically.

"Chouji has the best food at his house," Shikamaru added.

"Ino's mom's the prettiest!" Chouji said cheerfully. Ino turned to Chouji,

"WHAT?"

"Nothing."

"Dude, you are really creepy sometimes." This was hopeless.

"GUYS!!!! LISTEN!" They all turned to Sakura, "Naruto likes food, so I nominate Chouji's house." Chouji looked down; Ino smiled triumphantly,

"Looks like you'll have to wait 'til some other time to stalk my mom."

"I don't have a crush on your mom!"

"Woa…I never said ya did."

"Not in _so_ many words…"

"Or in _any_ words, really!" Sakura new she'd lost them, but she tried to pry some more information out of Chouji,

"What time?"

"I dunno. Why don't we just go to my house after we're done eating? I'll call everybody up." Chouji remarked, helpfully.

"Thanks, Chouji."

"No problem." He turned to Ino, "Now, take back the thing about your mom or I'm not letting you eat any of my granola bars!"

"None?"

"None."

"Okay, fine. You don't have a crush on my mom," she turned to Chouji, "There, happy?" He nodded. "Stupid…"

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^^*^*^*^*^*^*^

After dinner, they all made their way to Chouji's house. Hinata and Tenten began cooking a few desserts and Ino began decorating; she insisted that the house be decorated from head to toe, hanging streamers on everything… literally.

"Ino, streamers on the toilet?" Sakura asked while inspecting the decorations, "Don't you think that's going a little too far?"

"No. After all, everyone uses it…many times." Ino replied, giggling to herself. Sakura rolled her eyes. "Hey, stop acting like you're too cool! You know they look good. Admit it!" Ino always got way too upset over these kinds of things.

"They look great, Ino. Just calm down." That seemed to satisfy her. She continued to pack confetti into the box that she was planning to have fall on Naruto's head when he opened the door - a classic trick.

Then Ino paused,

"You don't really know for sure if he's coming today, do you?" Ino said it in such a serious tone that it caught Sakura off-guard. She turned abruptly,

"Wha-? Of course I do! What are you talking about?"

"Sak-?"

"Ino! I'm not an idiot! I just have this feeling in my gut that he's coming back!"

"Greeaat…now we're depending on gut-feelings," Ino said, smirking,

"Ino, I did some calculating and stuff and, if I did my math correctly, he should be back today. And I just feel li-"

"Okay, Sakura. If you say so, then I guess I have no choice but to believe you. I just hope you're right."

'_So do I, Ino. So do I.'_

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Eventually, all of Naruto's friends were all at the party awaiting his arrival. Tenten and Hinata were helping Ino decorate and Sakura was tapping her fingers on the table. Sakura was so distracted that she didn't hear Hinata approach,

"S-Sakura-san, y-you m-miss him t-too?" Hinata's quiet voice struggled to overpower the others.

"I do," Sakura replied quietly, "Don't worry, Hinata. He'll be here soon." Hinata nodded and continued helping Ino.

'_Come on, Naruto!'_

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Around 9, the party was starting to die down and Naruto still hadn't arrived. Ino gave Sakura a sympathetic glance, but Sakura glared back. _'How come nobody else has faith in him?' _she wondered, _'They don't blame him for what happened, do they? No. They're his friends. They're just getting a little impatient is all.'_

**Knock-knock.**

_'Inner-Sakura? Is that you?'_

_**'No, you idiot! That's the door! Answer it!!'**_

_'The door?'_

_**'YEEES!'**_

"SAKURA! Answer the door!" Ino's voice broke through her daze.

"Oh-uh…sorry." She walked to the door. Ino was already smiling; she was so proud of her contraption on top of the door. Sakura turned the knob.

**"SURPRISE!!!!!!!"**

"AH! OW!" The guest at the door yelped as Ino's box of confetti toppled onto his unsuspecting head; it was Kakashi. Everyone in the room mumbled a few curses; he waved innocently,

"Hey, guys. Sorry if I came in at the wrong time. I wanted to let you know that Naruto just arrived in town. I met him at the entrance and told him to head this way."

"Dangit, Kakashi," Ino whined, "You messed up my box of confetti!" Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck,

"Woops."

"Do I have time to set it back up?" Ino asked hopefully.

"Well, if you try doing it really fa-"

"Hey, everybody!! What's up with the confetti?" It was Naruto. And the whole group was just standing there like a herd of deer in front of dozens of headlights.

_**'SAY "SURPRISE!!" SAY IT NOW,'**_Inner Sakura pleaded.

'Huh? Oh yea…'

Sakura looked at Ino; everyone was thinkin' the same thing. The whole room erupted,

**"SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"**

Naruto nervously rubbed the back of his neck, "H-hey, guys. It's been a while. So how has everyone be- OW,"

As he was trying to speak, Ino, Sakura, and Hinata all hugged him; Lee started telling him about the latest running records that he'd set; Chouji offered him some ramen; Kakashi waved, and Akamaru tackled him.

Shikamaru noticed the look of discomfort on Naruto's face. For a moment, it almost looked like fear, but Shikamaru shook that thought out of his mind. _'He must be sore from his trip,' _Shikamaru thought_, 'All this hugging can't be good for his sore muscles.'_

"Hey, hey. Give Naruto a break. He's probably tired," Shikamaru realized how dumb that statement was the moment it slipped from his mouth. Naruto? Tired? Those two words just never fit. Still, everyone had to have some sort of physical limit, and Naruto was certainly pushing his.

Everyone but Akamaru slowly backed away. Shikamaru didn't think that Naruto would mind Akamaru, though. The two were pretty good playmates as far as Shikamaru knew. But, judging by the look on Naruto's face, maybe the time apart had hurt their relationship.

"Kiba," Shikamaru whispered, "Why don't you get Akamaru down?" Kiba looked at him quizzically, but obeyed,

"Hey, buddy, give Naruto a break. He's tired." Akamaru whimpered, but reluctantly tucked his tail in between his legs and sulked next to Kiba. Kiba tried to make Naruto comfortable by offering a chair for him to sit in.

"Thanks, Kiba." Naruto replied, seating himself. Kiba nodded.

"So, Naruto," Sakura said eagerly, sitting down in a chair across from him, "How was the training camp?"

Naruto's eyes darkened for a split second; only long enough for Shikamaru to take a mental note of it. However, after a long pause, Naruto seemed to relax again,

"Camp was...fine." It was strange to hear Naruto reply so robotically to a question that called for a long drawn-out answer. Sakura expected to hear him tell about the friends he met and how mean the teachers were. But, "fine"? That was it? That kind of an answer was expected from someone like Sai who was still learning what emotions were, but from Naruto…?

"Just "fine"? Kiba asked.

"Yeah. Fine. I met some friends too. They were…nice."

"Naruto," Sakura said, "surely something exciting happened at camp. Didn't someone do something funny or make you mad? Did you learn any new tricks? Anything? Come on! You can tell us!"

"Well, uh, nothing, really," he rubbed the back of his neck again, "How 'bout you guys? What have you been up to in the last few years?" Sakura's eyes narrowed.

_'Why did he ignore the question? I'll have to deal with this later'_

"Gone for two and a half years and you do nothing?" Kiba joked, "Now that's _some_ training camp!"

"Hehe," Naruto seemed to relax a little more, "I'll show you some of the cool tricks that I learned later! You'll be so impressed!"

"Hey, don't get all high-and-mighty! You just got back." Kiba said, already getting aggravated by Naruto's playful cockiness. Pleased by the feeling of nostalgia that the whole scene gave him, Chouji decided to say one of his favorite lines just for old times sake,

"Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm freakin' starving," Chouji half-yelled, "Let's eat!!" He made his way toward the refreshment table, and Naruto chuckled.

_'It's good to be home…' _Naruto mused as he began filling his plate with all of the great refreshments Hinata and Tenten had prepared for him. Still, he couldn't help but notice the lack of his favorite treat – ramen.

"No ramen?" He asked innocently. Everyone sweat-dropped.

"Naruto," Sakura scolded, "It's a nighttime party. We're having _**desserts**_. I don't want you stuffing your face with ramen at 9:30 at night, anyway. Besides, Hinata and Tenten worked hard on the desserts; you could at least say 'thank you'." Naruto slowly turned to Tenten and Hinata,

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, brat." Tenten muttered.

"Um… uh… y-you're very w-welcome, Naruto-kun." Naruto squinted at Hinata, but continued to fill his plate.

'_She's SO weird.'_ He thought to himself.

Soon, after everyone was seated, and they had blessed the meal, Naruto dug in. He was so hungry. Sakura was disgusted, as usual, by his eating habits,

"Naruto, eat slower, you're going to throw up." Of course, Sakura had always said this to Naruto when he ate, but this time, strangely enough, it looked true. Little by little, Naruto face began to pale, and he clasped his hand over his mouth.

Sakura gasped as Naruto took off towards Chouji's bathroom. Normally, in a situation like this, most kids would find it comical for someone to be doing such a thing, but because of how much they knew Naruto was capable of eating, it seemed strange that a few little dessert cakes would upset the bottomless pit that was his stomach.

After about 20 minutes, Shikamaru seemed worried,

"I'm gonna go check on him." He said calmly, standing up. "He must've eaten too fast or somethin'." Everyone nodded.

Shikamaru knocked on the bathroom door, and Naruto slowly pulled it open. When Shikamaru walked in, he noticed that Naruto had pretty much cleaned the place up, and aside from the fowl odor, everything looked clean.

"Shikamaru," Naruto sounded out each syllable slowly, stalling while he thought of what to say next, "I'm sorry." He hung his head. "I... uh... I just always eat too fast, you know that. And-" Shikamaru held up his hand to stop him,

"I understand. You don't need to explain," his eyes betrayed him, however, when Naruto spotted the curiosity in them. After all, Shikamaru was a genius, he could see straight through deceit, including a story that lacked the appropriate details. But Shikamaru answered Naruto's suspicions when he continued,

"But I'd like a full explanation later. Understood?" He asked, firmly. Clearly, he wouldn't accept 'no' for an answer.

"Shikamaru, I ate too fast. That is all."

"You've eaten that fast before," Shikamaru retorted, "and you've never gotten sick." He added, letting his gaze sink deep into Naruto ocean-blue eyes. "So, why now?"

"…"

"Well? Do you have an answer? Spit it out!"

"I told you my answer, and that is all I will tell you. If you choose to question me further on the subject, I will answer the same." Naruto stated, directing his eyes towards the wall. Shikamaru hesitated,

"You're different. I might believe you if you'd given me an answer like I would've expected, an answer like the Naruto I used to know would've given. But you answered as if I'm was interrogating you."

"Well, in a sense, you are, aren't you?" Shikamaru opened his mouth to reply, but no words came to him. After all, Naruto was correct, but why the heck was he acting so serious? And… why was he standing so stiffly? Was he actually afraid of Shikamaru?

Before Shikamaru could say anything else, Naruto stepped out of the bathroom slowly. To everyone's surprise, he was looking pretty well for someone who had just thrown their guts up.

"H-hey, guys," he said, waving, "sorry about that. I, uh, ate too fast. Heheh." He laughed nervously. Sakura sighed in relief. Kiba smiled,

"Dude, you scared us for a while there. We thought you'd died in there or somethin'." He said, laughing.

"Oh my gosh, Kiba. It's not a laughing matter," Tenten said, angrily.

"It's okay. Heheh. I guess it is kinda funny." Naruto said, joining in with Kiba's laughter.

Pretty soon, most of the party guests were laughing away as they ate the rest of their desserts. It seemed like a cruel thing to laugh at, but after all, Naruto was laughing too.

But neither Shikamaru nor Sakura were laughing. The matter was more serious than Naruto was letting on and Shikamaru wasn't going to forget about what just happened like Naruto wanted him to. Shikamaru knew that the old Naruto probably would've tried to cover up the situation with laughter also, but this new Naruto had been awfully brief in his answers to Shikamaru's questions, and that wasn't at all like the Naruto he used to know.

Sakura, although unaware of exactly how the conversation between Shikamaru and Naruto went down, was looking towards Shikamaru with a questioning glint in her eyes. He only stared back; no words needed to be spoken. They both made a silent agreement that night...

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_**Chapter**__**End**_

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Crap. That was anticlimactic... *sigh*...

Does it suck? Yes? No? Please tell me in a review. I know that I kinda drug (dragged?) certain conversations out… I have a tendency to overanalyze and stuff like that, so yea…

It was really REALLY hard for me to write the scene where Naruto got sick because things like that really bother me. Don't know why, but they do. So, bear with me, okay? There probably won't be any more scenes with stuff like that… simply because, if I do it again, I might throw up on my computer… no joke.

You don't even wanna know what I do when I see blood….O__O

Just PLEASE give me some feedback. I love communicating with ma readers… And thanks in advance for reviewing if you do. *winks*

I'm gonna go chase some plot-bunnies.

Oh, look! There goes one…..

…


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